The Road.Author: BuffaloEmail: brfanfic@gmail.comA very special thanks to JonnyNapalm for his incredible work betaing this story.I do not own any of the fandoms used herein, this is a work of fanfiction and can not be used for commercial gain.please feel free to comment or send me an email on your thoughts on this story.A side note on cannon, all seasons of BtVS will be considered cannon but after that the comics are not followed as closely.if some of the characters act out of character to how they are known in their respective source materials, please give it time all will be explained.Thank you for reading.Buffalo

Prologue The woman walks through the dense forest. She finds herself coming here more and more, to see him.The manor house was typical of the old homes of English lords, hard and cold. The woman breaks through the last of the forest and finds herself on the edge of the over manicured lawn. She gazes up trying to glimpse something through one of the numerous windows in the distance.Her breath catches, as it always does, as she sees him through a window.He was so different from the warrior who had died in her arms. So fragile seeming, his glasses slipping down his nose as he buries himself in a book. He must be about seventeen now. She turns away blinking. He was the reason for all she has done, she would not let him die again. Her heart would not survive it. A shimmering portal appears in the air beside her and she steps through. It quickly vanishes, to leave a quiet forest. Chapter One

Faith walks down the dark alleyway leading to nights. It was two weeks since what the locals had deemed the battle of Boston. Two weeks of peace which had been steadily pulling Xander into a depression, which Faith recognized.Xander had gone to a dark place after the fall of Sunnydale, after the death of Anya. Faith had been involved in her relationship with wood and hadn't been there to see his epic blowup in Cleveland. But she had heard the fallout. He left the Scoobies and lost himself in Africa. Xander had never totally come clean, but Faith had put enough together to know that the first months there had been spent in the bottom of a bottle. Xander had for years struggled with his parent’s alcoholic nature, for years abstaining. But he had lost all cares he just wanted to disappear.Faith knows that an old soldier had been the one to pull him back into the world, give him back his fight. Xander rarely talked about his time with County, but it was clear he respected the man.After that stories started filtering out of Africa, of two Americans. They were crazy tales of crazier men taking on armies and devils. They were the Quatermain’s of the twenty-first century.Faith suspects that Xander would have liked to stay there forever, but things turned. County died in battle, and Twilight had surfaced.Xander always held it together better in a crisis than peacetime.Faith enters Nights. It is hours after closing. She finds it eerie how quiet the normally bustling bar is. She sees him there, sitting at the bar, drinking from a mostly empty bottle. Barny is waiting next to the door for Faith. He had been the one to call her."Thanks for calling me." she says to the massive troll."Hell, figured you'd be the one wantin’ to know. I'll leave ya ta be wit him," he says leaving the bar.They are alone in the dimly light space. Faith finds her eyes tracing the lines of Xanders body. He had put on muscle since they had found each other; he was already in better shape since the fight against Kakistos. It had really been pure luck that they had both seen their way through the battle. " H'lo Faith," says Xander in a slurred voice without turning."Hey X-man," she replies moving up to sit next to Xander."Wan’ a drink?" he asks sliding the bottle across to her. She takes a swig of the amber liquid."Looks like you're tryin’ for a record.""Hell figure I drink enough an I'll trick myself tha’ things are like they were.""Before Halloween or before Anya?" Xander finches like she hit him at the name of his former fiancé. He grabs the bottle quickly draining the last of its contents angrily."Don't talk about her.""See I hit a nerve." Xander seems to collapse in on himself; he turns to Faith with a tired look in his eyes. Faith had seen that look before. It was the absence of hope which was all to familiar to anyone who spent some time on the street."I failed her" he says after a moment "I should have protected her, gods damn it I should have married her. It was one of the worst mistakes of my life, leaving her there at the altar.""She forgave you, in the end.""I need to move, I need a fight. I don't think when I have a battle." Faith looks at him. She had been going crazy before he found her. She didn't know whether to trust the memories, the violent life she had woken to find implanted in her mind. But she too had been feeling the rising need for something to do.She knew she could have a home her, have peace here, she also knew that if she stays she will undoubtedly end up killing herself from sheer boredom. "We'll leave tomorrow," she says."Thank you," says Xander looking at her with a gaze of complete relief.

*** Xander feels a weight lifting from his chest, as the Charger breaks free of the Boston city limits. The road is rushing under them, and the horizon has a million possibilities. He turns for a moment to look at Faith. He wouldn't have been at all surprised if she had decided not to come with him after his display last night, but she had barely seemed to hesitate. Xander feels a pang of self-disgust at his display. He shouldn't have let himself lose his composure like that. He is normally able to control his drinking, but there were times when he found himself giving in. The Harris genes coming into effect.Conner and Murphy hadn't wanted to let them go. The brothers had a strong protective streak that had come out in force after the battle. The two Irishmen had adopted them, seeming to now think of Xander and Faith as younger siblings.They had finally agreed to meet up in LA next spring, when Xander and Faith would be returning to Sunnydale, hopefully in time to prevent the harvest.The brothers McManus had given them their number if they run into any trouble. Xander turns his attention back to the horizon. Faith is looking over a map. It was good to be on the road. She could see Xander relaxing a soon as they left Boston. As if a great weight was off his shoulders."So," says Xander "where to first?" Chapter two. Faith stretches her legs as Xander fills up the Charger. They had been on the road for two weeks now. Faith walks through the isles of junk food in the gas station. She grabs bags of assorted edibles as she makes her way to the register. Their funds had started to run low after the first week. You can only get so much cash from raiding vamp nests; most don't even bother with cash. In the end though they came up with a solution, a way to put their unique skill set toward monetary gain. It started with a job they had stumbled into it. They had found a Slitheen nest in Wyoming being led by a charismatic human. He was using the demons to rob banks. The story of the "Halloween bandits" had made national news. It was a moonless night, as the two warriors approached the rundown house which the Slitheen were using.Xander draws the shortsword Barny gave him after the defeat of Kakistos. One of the demons is lurking in the shadows of the house guarding against intruders. Luckily the demon wasn't very proficient, he had fallen asleep on the job. Xander didn't give him the chance to wake.As Xander was taking care of the guard faith is entering the house. She has a machete in her right hand ready for attack. It isn't long coming. She is barely through the doorway when one of the demons is upon her. They fall to the ground the demon on top. She feels sharp teeth sink into her shoulder as she hacks at it with her blade.The demon slumps heavily onto her and she can feel the warm sensation of blood. Faith flops the now dead demon off of her. It's yellow blood had soaked her shirt.Faith almost swings her blade when she feels a hand on her shoulder, but she realizes it is Xander. He is checking the wound the demon had left with its teeth. Silently his fingers probe the wound checking to see if an artery or vein was nicked. After a moment he removes his had, the relieved expression on his face making it clear that the wound isn't serious.Faith takes the lead as they venture deeper into the house. They encounter two more demons in the next room. They are dealt with efficiently and quietly.Finally they are at the master bedroom. The door is polished and clean, in fact it is the first thing in the house they have seen which could be called such.Silently Faith opens the door. Xander rushes in blade at the ready, and is sent flying back out by a colorful burst of light. Faith hears a groan as he hits the far wall, she hopes that the sound means the magical blast hadn't harmed him much. She readies her machete and rushes the dark room.She finds a frail looking man holding a wand. Without though she manages to doge the blast of energy he sends her way with a word. Dodging back and forth she rushes the mage. Closing the gap, trying to negate the advantage he has. She gets in close enough to grab the man's wand. And in a single motion snaps it.The sudden change in the mage is astonishing. His eyes widen at the loss of his focus. Faith expects him to simply continue casting his magics at her, but he seems to fold in on himself. He shrinks back from her shielding his face with his arms. He is crying like a baby.Faith barely spares the time to knock the man unconscious before running to check on Xander.She finds him slumped against the wall. She feels overwhelming relief flood through her as she finds he has a strong pulse. She slaps his face lightly bringing him back around. "You get that trains number? I think I might sue." He says groggily as he finally comes around."Don't know about the train, but I got the driver," says Faith slumping down next to him."He's alive?""Yeah.""What we do with him now?""Beats me."In the end they decided to call Barny. It turned out that the British wizarding government wanted the man, and he had a rather large bounty on his head.Both Xander and Faith had had dealings with the British wizarding government. They had been involved in a loose alliance with the watchers council for centuries. They had shared information for a time, but the wizards had decided to go underground once the military started hunting slayers.After the hefty payout they received for the rogue wizard. Xander and Faith realized that there was potential here. Faith finally put forward what they were both thinking a few days later. They decided to become bounty hunters. The underworld had many wanted criminals, demons, mages, and other assorted beings, and there were few willing to hunt them down. There decision was why they now found themselves in Texas, chasing a rogue werewolf. Chapter Three Xander watches Faith as she walks into the gas station. God he loved watching her. It was odd at time seeing her in a body so much younger then most of his memories. It still throws him when he looks in the mirror and sees a fourteen-year-old pipsqueak looking back. He misses the days when he could make a path through a crowd with his glare alone.Xander watches the fast rising numbers on the pump absently. These past weeks on the road had been some of the happiest he could remember for a long time. He hears Faith returning with food for the road ahead. She had scared up a job. A bounty had been put out on a werewolf. He had taken to purposely locating himself in the center of population centers on the verge of the full moon. The rogue wolf had racked up a truly impressive body count.He however had made the mistake of biting the daughter of a wealthy mage. The man was a seer who had used his talent to make a fortune on the stock market. He wasn't a battle mage, but he knew how to find those capable of hunting a wolf.The bounty had gone out two days ago. Xander had no doubt that they were not the only bounty hunters after the small fortune that was up for grabs.Xander finishes filling up the Charger. Daylight was burning, and the moon was coming. *** Faith sits on the bed of the cheap motel they are staying in. She is methodically sharpening her machete. She has grown rather attached to the hardy blade; it's seen her through battle safe a half dozen time since Kakistos. She was surprised it was in as good shape as it is considering the abuse she had put it through."How long?" She asks Xander absently."Hours yet, before moonrise," replies Xander from his place at the table. He is currently cleaning his pearl handled colt 1911, a fresh box of silver shell sits on the table to his side.Neither of them like wolf hunts. Faith always finds memories of Oz bringing shades of gilt to her mind remembering the fact the werewolf is human all but a handful of nights. That they had a life and a family before their change. But monsters like this one, when the human half is purposely placing himself so he will attack humans, they are monsters in need of being put down.Faith starts at the sound of Xander racking the slide of his reassembled weapon."You should get some sleep," he says absently, Faith can see the tension in his shoulders "it'll be a long night." Xander watches Faith as she tries to grab some sleep before moonrise.Xander wishes he could have a drink to calm his nerves, but it would be foolish tonight. Compulsively he begins breaking down his freshly cleaned gun again. He needed to do something to keep his hands busy. *** Xander is in a mist filled wood. It is familiar but he can't quiet place it. He casts about but it is just out of reach.Looking down at himself he is surprised to find the muscle tone and scares of his days after Africa. He is holding a long dagger in his hand."Xander, run" says a familiar voice from behind him. He turns to see a contour run into view, it takes Xander a moment to recognize her as Dawn. Dawn, he hadn't though about her in so long, would she be here, exist as Buffy’s little sister, or was she still the key, guarded by monks in a distant land.Dawn runs by grabbing his hand, pulling him up onto her back. Xander finally puts the facts together; if Dawn is a contour then he knows why this place is so familiar. It is the forest surrounding the castle, this was the night Twilight attacked and destroyed their new home, killed so many of their friends.This was the first real battle of the slayer war.Soldiers appear out of the mist without though Xander takes him down with his blade.In the original time he and dawn had escaped the soldiers, made their way deep into the forest. Dawn convinced the forest spirits, the centaurs, and the ents to help them turn back their attackers. It was probably the first time she had been glad her ex had cursed her into her new body.But this wasn't then. Dark shapes appear from the mists around them. Cruel caricatures of the soldiers that had chased them so long ago. Xander feels them pull him from dawn's back, their clawed hands ripping into him.Xander wakes with a start. He had fallen asleep in his chair. Apparently he had been making noise in his sleep because faith is shaking him awake with a worried expression. "You alright?""Yeah, bad dream. It time?" he asks avoiding her questioning look. He pulls aside the curtain to reveal the dusky sky "Looks like it's time to go to work." *** The alleyway is dark, grim and covered. Xander tried not to let the stench of urine turn his stomach as he lets the wolf enhance his sense of smell.He inhales, trying to catch the distinctive scent, which all werewolves have.He inhales, the smell of Faith, pulls at him. Her smell of ash and blood. He tries to put it out of his head. He is about to give up when he catches a hint. It is slight, but unmistakable for what he is looking for."Found him," he says before breaking into a run. Faith is close on his heels. The wolf is headed straight to the heart of the city.Looking up he catches a glimpse of fur as the werewolf leaps across the space between two buildings. It was using the rooftops.Xander jumps catching the bottom rung of a fire escape. His weight pulls the ladder down to the ground.Faith leaps up grabbing a higher step and starts up. Xander follows as soon as the ladder hits the ground.As soon as they are on the roof the werewolf comes into sight. It had stopped it's flight in favor of investigating it's pursuers.It is one of the largest werewolves Xander has ever seen, a true alpha, eyes glowing red in the light of the full moon.Xander draws his colt and empties his clip into the werewolf. Shooting from the hip he hits dead center. Unfortunately it only seems to piss the werewolf off.Xander dives out of the way as it rushes him in a blind rage. Xander pulls his short sword as he rolls away. He comes back to his feet to see faith wailing on the werewolf with her machete. She had soaked the blade in a special brew of wolfs bane the previous night; it seems to be having an effect. Every deep valley she opens with her blade leaves a smoking wound which heals slowly.Xander tries for an opening but Faith is moving too quickly. For a moment it seems she has the werewolf on the ropes, then it suddenly swipes at her with a viciously clawed paw. Faith falls back."NO" screams Xander lunging at the beast. He slashes at it with his short sword. He gets lucky, his wild swing connects with the werewolf, cleaving through its arm.It screams in pain and rage. Not giving it the chance to recover Xander lunges in close swinging his blade.With a single motion he cleaves it's head from its shoulders.Not stopping to savor his victory Xander rushes to Faiths side. She fell on her back, she is moving but stunned. Turning her over Xander looks at where the wolf had connected with her.Xander breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that her leather jacket had taken the blow. The werewolves’ claws hadn't broken the skin.He collapses forward embracing her. He had though that the werewolf had killed her. Faith returns the embrace. The blow had stunned Faith. The wolf hadn't gotten its claws into her but it's blow was like being hit by a refrigerator. She feels Xander pulling her into a tight embrace.

She hears a muffled sound, he is crying. She wraps her arms around him, holding him close. Chapter Four The wolf had returned to his human form at his death. Faith was the one to grab the head, the bounty specified proof of identity.They made their way back to the cheap motel.Faith is laying back on the bed, Xander is standing staring out the window at the moon as it falls behind the horizon."I though I lost you," he says after a moment "I’ve lost a lot of people, too many... I don't think I would survive losing you too." Faith doesn't know what to say. They stay like that for a while, not saying anything."Come to bed, it's late," says Faith finally. She scoots over to the side leaving room for Xander.Without response he takes the offered place, not bothering to shed his clothes.He lies on his back looking up at the ceiling. Faith watches him for a time, watches his even breathing.Finally she seems to make up her mind. Moving surely she wraps an arm around Xander, laying her head on his chest.She falls asleep there.